Give in to Me
by rocksolidpanda
Summary: Daryl, Rick, Carl and Michonne have met up again after being separated at the prison. In this story, Terminus doesn't exist. Our band of survivors will try to find the rest of the people from the prison, meet new people, face new foes and they might even find love along the way. ****Daryl x New Character
1. The Beginning

Rick, Daryl, Michonne and Carl silently crept through the woods, trying to avoid making too much noise. A herd of walkers had migrated onto the railroad tracks, and the group decided to leave and set up camp for the night rather than fight. Daryl walked ahead with his crossbow hanging casually from his hands and Rick followed; his mind elsewhere. Michonne and Carl were jokingly fighting over the last chocolate bar, by having another competition. Whoever could hold their breath the longest won, and although Michonne beat Carl, they shared it like they always did. Daryl turned around every so often to watch the inseparable pair, and would scoff or shake his head. Nobody saw the quiet smile he had when he turned back around, but they knew most of his "loner" attitude was a front. He pretended that he was okay with being by himself, but they knew how much he still missed Beth; she had become a little sister to him.

They found a small area where they could settle for the night, the thin brown trees surrounding the clearing in an almost perfect circle. "Carl, could you be on lookout for me while I do this?" Rick asked cautiously. He was at war with himself, not wanting Carl to become too violent again, but also not wanting to push him further away. He knew father and son bonding was important, but it was hard and confusing after all they've been through. Rick began to take wire and set it around the circle of trees, weaving it through holes in tin cans every so often. They hadn't seen a walker in more than an hour, but it was a necessary precaution so the noise could alert them if there was one. Carl stood at ready with his gun, while talking aimlessly with Michonne.

Daryl went off, looking for squirrel or deer and to set traps. He had been so accustomed to this in his previous life that it was more like instinct now. He was about to shoot a squirrel, when he noticed something dark dangling from a branch on a tree some distance away. He thoughtlessly took a step forward, and the crunching of the leaves sent the squirrel running. "Damn it to hell," he cursed, his voice rough. He walked over to the object he noticed, until he could distinguish what it was. "The fuck?…"

"Hey y'all, there's someone else nearby!" Daryl jogged back to camp, ducking under the wire.

"What is that?" inquired Rick, narrowing his eyes.

"They're clothes! I guess someone washed them and they were leaving it to dry?"

"So you brought them back with you? Don't you think that was kind of stupid? Now they're gonna be mad and know other people are close too…" "

Well I don't fucking know, I just grabbed something so you'd believe me." Daryl threw the clothes he had in his hand on the ground and started pacing.

"Interesting choice of clothes you grabbed there." Michonne teased, holding up a pair of women's underwear. "I didn't know you were such a pervert Daryl."

None of the group there had ever seen Daryl's face go that bright shade of red, and they all laughed. Michonne wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes, and threw the underwear at Carl's face while Rick chuckled before sobering up. Carl also turned beet red which started up the laughter all over again, and even Daryl broke a smile and snickered under his breath. Daryl's laugh was throaty and rough, it completely suited him.

Lately Daryl had lost a lot of the baby fat he once carried; all of the constant rigorous work had turned it into muscle. His hair was as long as always, but it helped with the "bad boy" look. With emerald green eyes, he was ruggedly handsome but, of course, he did everything he could do to hide it.

"Seriously though, should we find another spot to stay for a few days? What if they're bad people?" Rick asked.

"It'll be fine."

"We can handle them dad."

"Fuck no, I ain't runnin' from anybody."

It was settled, they would stay there. As the sky darkened, they all fell asleep dreaming of someone they loved. Well, most of them. Rick dreamed of Lori holding baby Judith, reaching out to him, and whispering how proud she was of him. Michonne dreamed that she was in a valley filled with pastel flowers, playing with her son Andre. Carl dreamed of Beth, the girl with the silvery hair, the girl he never had a chance to confess to. Daryl didn't have someone to dream about; he only had the lonely ache in his heart he got whenever he thought about someone loving him completely for exactly who he was. The way no one ever had before…

*clink* *clink* *moans*

"WAKE UP!" Rick shouted, shaking Daryl's shoulder. There were walkers everywhere, a massive herd, headed straight towards them. They might have completely passed by without noticing them, if it weren't for the noise of the tin cans from one curious walker, drawing the attention of others. The moans were all that Daryl could hear. Rick tossed a gun to Carl and Michonne unsheathed her sword. Daryl sat up quickly, and grabbed his beloved crossbow. He had eight arrows left, but if he used them all now he would have none left and wouldn't be able to kill any more walkers with it. Yet, what was he supposed to do now, with a herd of walkers on their way over right this second? Before he could turn over the decision in his mind any more, Rick tossed him a shot gun and nodded at him. The walkers hurried their pace, and just as Daryl was about to fire, a figure dropped to the ground seemingly out of nowhere.

She turned around, looked at the small group, and smiled. She then proceeded to raise a sword similar to Michonne, and swipe the heads clean off of three walkers who were directly in front of her. It was a woman, around twenty five years old, and she was perhaps one of the most brutal and beautiful woman Daryl had ever seen.


	2. Decisions

_**Just wanted to thank everyone who read the first chapter! **_

…

The mysterious woman plowed through the walkers, cutting off the heads of several at a time. She ducked, zig-zagged, swiped, and sprinted throughout the herd. She was incredibly fast and she used it to her advantage. None of the walkers had enough time to get hold of her, even though there was so many. Watching her fighting was art in its own way, this woman was lithe and graceful while doing something that would never be considered; killing. Rick, Michonne, Carl and Daryl stood in absolute awe.

After about ten minutes, this one woman had wiped out an entire group of walkers without any help. She was the biggest bad-ass Daryl had ever met. She stood facing away from them for a few moments, breathing hard.

"Who are you?" Rick asked loudly, so she could hear. The woman turned around and stared at them before answering. She was beautiful in a small, subtle way. She was very short and thin, with a small button nose and a bright smile. Everything about her face was small, except for her big brown eyes which made her look innocent. The thing Daryl noticed the most though, was her hair. It tumbled in glossy dark waves over her shoulders, and settling at her waist. Daryl had always loved long hair.

"Jasmine. My name is Jasmine. Who are you?"

"This is Carl, Michonne and Daryl, and my name is Rick. How did you do that? Are you alone?"

Jasmine looked up at the trees, and then four more figures dropped down beside her. Another three emerged from the forest across from the clearing. Jasmine didn't answer until all seven stood behind her. "This is my group. Half of us, me included, all have years of training in hand to hand combat so I suppose that's "how I did that", although it looks easier than it is."

One of the men standing beside Jasmine snorted and put a hand around her shoulder. The man was tall and muscular, which contrasted against Jasmine's small frame. He had blonde spiky hair and piercing blue eyes that stared at Rick in contempt. "This is Michael," she shrugged off his hand. "He's a handful. Then we have Jason, Ben, Adrianna, and Katie." Jason looked very similar to Michael, with blonde hair and blue eyes, but he was thinner, lankier. He also wore a sweet smile; he had an open and friendly face. Ben was the dorkiest looking of the group. He had curly brown hair, and wore glasses too big for his face. He must have been eighteen at the oldest.

The woman named Adrianna had curly orange hair tied in a straight ponytail. She had frightening almost black eyes, and pale white skin. Katie, who had emerged from the forest, looked like a watered down version of Jasmine. She had short brown hair, but it was dull and lifeless. She also had small features and big eyes, although they were green, but everything was undefined and came across as bland.

"We also found this little duckling while on the road." A small figure stepped out from behind the woman and squinted at the other group.

"Beth!" Carl ran across the space separating the groups, to her. They hugged and Beth began crying. She let go and looked at the group. "Daryl!" She ran up to him, crying. "I'm so sorry! I told them to turn around and get you but you weren't there anymore. We've been looking for you ever since."

"It's alright, it's alright." Daryl awkwardly put an arm around her. He had no words, seeing Beth and knowing she was alive and okay was the best feeling he could ever imagine. Yet, in typical Daryl fashion, he portrayed no emotion.

The other group started to whisper among themselves. Although at first it had seemed that Jasmine was the leader, she hung back examining her sword aimlessly while Michael gestured and spoke to each individual person. Finally their conversation seemed over, and he turned to the smaller group.

"Would you like to join our group? Do you have any plans?" he asked Rick.

"We aren't really sure, we got separated from the rest of our people so we're just trying to find them."

"Yeah, so are we. We were with three other people, but we got separated too. We've been looking for them, before we ran into Beth. If you don't have any other plans, you could come with us there? Rumor has it there's a safe haven there and we have some other business there as well…"

"I would have to talk it over with my people." Rick said, unsure.

"Don't take too long. You can have the day to catch up with Beth and decide together and we'll come back tonight and see what you've decided." Michael turned and left and the rest of the group followed, disappearing into the woods. Jasmine hesitated, before turning around and walking back to them.

"Here, little one." She unclasped the necklace from around her neck and moved Beth's hair to the side, and draped it on her. "Just in case." She said quietly. It was beautiful, a gold heart locket with small little diamonds in it and intricate designs. Then she turned around and jogged to catch up with her group.

"It looks like we have a decision to make." Rick said ominously before shoving his gun back into its holster.


	3. Mr Crossbow

Rick, Carl, Michonne, Daryl and Beth sat around in their makeshift tents and sleeping bags, deciding what to do. It seems that they were divided, Beth, Carl and Rick thought they should join the group of strangers while Michonne and Daryl agreed it would be a really stupid idea.

"You must be getting' some heat stroke if ya'll think we should go with them, after everything with the Governor."

"I agree with Daryl… I'm hesitant to trust them so soon." Michonne said indecisively.

"I was with them for a few weeks; they're good people just like you guys. They can help us find Maggie and Glenn and Sasha and everyone!" Beth twirled the necklace around in her fingers while she talked, she was clearly nervous they would decide not to go with them after all.

"Carl what do you think?" Rick asked brusquely. "If Beth trusts them then so do I." He looked at her and smiled, before looking away. You could see the transparent love Carl felt for Beth. He constantly checked on her, tried to be near her and agreed with her. Michonne noticed it during her time at the prison, and felt sad for Carl. It was clear Beth did not notice Carl's feelings and she didn't think either of them could possibly close the age gap.

"I think we should travel with them just for the moment, find the others, and then from there we can make our next move." Although Rick had renounced his leadership role, they still all looked to him to give the final answer on everything.

Daryl scoffed at Rick, picked up his crossbow and wandered off to hunt so he could think alone. He was grateful to the strangers for saving Beth sure, but he couldn't help be worried for the people he had come to care so much about. He didn't want any of them of get hurt. The woman who called herself Jasmine seemed kind but there was something off about her. Even though he had assumed she was the leader at first, it later became apparent that she didn't really have a say in what was going on. She acted like an outsider at the same time as being one of the most important members of her group. Michael made it clear he was the decision maker. Daryl wasn't too sure about him, he came across as cocky but he was clever. Daryl saw the sly glint in his eye, the same one he saw in The Governor.

'What's up between Jasmine and Michael anyways?' Daryl wondered. It looked as if Michael liked her, the way he put his arm around her and the way he flirtingly teased her. Daryl shook his head. Who fucking cared if those two were together. Daryl spent the rest of the afternoon tracking a deer, making sure to herd it near where the others were so he didn't go too far alone. He was just about to shoot it when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Ah, damn it to hell!" He whipped around and saw the petite brunette he only recently was thinking about, standing before him. "What the hell do you want? You scared off my deer; I've been her tracking for hours."

"Sorry." She sure didn't look sorry.

"Are you going to tell me why the hell you're sneaking up on me?"

"It's getting dark, I was just about to head to your camp to hear if you guys are gonna come with us. I saw you so I figured we could walk there together." She smiled warmly, and it really pissed Daryl off.

"Fine."

"Alrighty."

They left together, using the distant light of their fire to guide them. "So did one of you guys steal Arianna's underwear?" Daryl turned beat red and Jasmine laughed, "I'm totally kidding! I saw everything; we've been keeping an eye on you for a while. The others cracked up so bad when I told them what happened." "Yeah well…" Daryl was at a loss for words. He was completely out of his comfort zone.

"Do you have any questions you wanna ask me? Ya know, before you decide?" Her long, dark hair tickled his shoulder as they walked.

"Who's the leader of your group?"

"Michael. I know he seems a little…cold. He always makes decisions that are best for everyone, so I don't complain." Daryl already thought this, but now he had confirmation. He wasn't sure how he felt about this; Michael could turn out to be using them for an ulterior motive that Jasmine might not know about. Or Jasmine could be on it with him and the rest. Daryl needed to stop assuming she was going to be a good person, just because he thought she was beautiful. Damn it! Daryl internally chastised himself, he couldn't think of her like that.

"I guess we'll find out about Michael for ourselves, I'm pretty sure my people want to go with you so looks like I'm stuck with you."

"You make it sound like you don't?" Jasmine asked curiously, tilting her head.

"I don't."

"Well then, why wouldn't you go off on your own? You seem like that kind of guy, who works best when he's by himself. I don't want you to, just wondering. You're a mystery I feel like solving, Mr. Crossbow."

He had to think about that for a minute. She let him, walking beside him silently till he could answer honestly. He didn't even know why he cared to answer this strange woman, but something compelled him. Why did he stay? He could pick up and leave them whenever he wanted. It would be dangerous being alone, that's for sure. But there was something more. Daryl thought of Carl, the little man who just wanted to be like his dad. Then there was Michonne, the friend he only recently made, a tough woman who could handle herself. There was Rick, his brother. And Beth, the girl who taught him that he didn't have to be who he was before. He didn't have to be the hick who traveled with his asshole brother, looting and drinking and doing stupid shit. He could care, about people, about things. He didn't have to be alone anymore.

"They're my family, that's why."

Jasmine looked at him and smiled, her hair swinging. She believed him, and she thought that there was more to this man named Daryl than the tough boy act he put on. She put her hand gently on his arm, before pulling away quickly. Daryl looked down at the small girl, embarrassed, but he brushed it off. They spent the rest of the walk to his camp in comfortable silence. When they got there, her group was already there waiting. Daryl wondered why she would walk with him instead of going with her own people. She stayed by his side, even with the dark glare Michael gave her. She said he was a mystery, but Daryl was beginning to think that she was an even bigger mystery than he ever imagined.

"So?" Michael said roughly, while throwing glances in Jasmine's direction. Rick looked at Daryl before answering. "So you're sure that you'll help us find our people?"

"As long as you help us find ours. Then after that, you can decide to leave or stay with us and go to the safe haven we heard about in Washington. The more people we have, the safer it'll be to get there." Michael spoke calmly and professionally, but smirked while he talked. It was completely off-setting and opposite.

"I guess we have a deal."

"You guys can have the night to be by yourselves and keep talking it over, and after that we'll travel together during the day, and camping at night together." Michael turned and left, with Katie and Adrianna trailing after him. Ben waved and giggled as his eyes met Beth's, before walking off with Jason, who also leered at her. Daryl noticed this and made a note that he would have to keep watch on Beth. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her again, ever.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Jasmine said excitedly, before running off after the others. "So you guys were together?" Rick asked with a hint of mischief in his voice. "She just wanted to make sure I didn't kill them in their sleep." He said, before setting down the squirrels he caught and sat down to start skinning them. Rick and Carl gave him the look but he just ignored them and pretended he didn't see it. They all ate together before going to sleep, wondering what tomorrow was going to be like.


End file.
